Freekeh, Pomegranate & Herb salad
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Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
yield: 1 + extra pumpkin
 
Ingredients
Pumpkin
  • ½ butternut pumpkin
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Salad
  • ⅓ cup wholegrain freekeh
  • 2 tablespoons raw pecans
  • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
  • ¼ avocado
  • ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius (electric)
  2. Peel pumpkin, remove insides and chop into 5cm-size pieces
  3. In a large baking tray, add pumpkin, oil and salt
  4. Coat well and
 bake for 40 minutes
  5. Shake the tray and bake for a remaining 30 minutes
  6. Reserve ½ cup, allow to cool and store remaining quantity in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
  7. Whilst pumpkin is baking, bring freekeh and ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons water to the boil in a saucepan on med-high heat
  8. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 40-45 minutes or until water is cooked off and freekeh is tender, set aside
  9. Whilst freekeh is cooking, toast pecans in a dry frypan for a few minutes
  10. Chop roughly and set aside
  11. Finely chop mint and slice avocado
  12. Once cooked combine all ingredients, coat well with oil and season to taste
Notes
The kind of lunch that you can add your favourite protein to and it goes with almost anything. You could even serve this as a side for dinner.

TOP TIP – prep the freekeh and pumpkin at the start of the week and make this delicious lunch in minutes! Or for even faster results – use cracked freekeh which cooks in 10-15 minutes.

FREEKEH - made from green wheat that goes through a roasting process in its production.
The roasted wheat experiences thrashing and sun drying, which is how its Arabic name originated (farik meaning rubbed) and the most common end result is a cracked version which tastes somewhat nutty.
It has at least four times as much fibre as other comparable grains, is low-GI and is in the same superfood group as quinoa and farro.
Recipe by Nadia Felsch at https://nadiafelsch.com/2016/04/15/freekeh-pomegranate-herb-salad/